1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a gauge for measuring the weighting force on a textile cot roll. More specifically, the invention relates to such a gauge which is a small, preferably self-contained unit consisting of a pair of reverse scissors action pivoted levers so designed that the forward ends of the pair of lever arms may be inserted into an opening between a textile cot roll arbor and the drive roll therefor to physically push the cot roll away from the drive roll when the levers are pivoted around the pivot point. The load on the cots is thus transferred from the cots to the arbor-contacting lever arm. Electrical strain gauges mounted on the arbor-contacting lever arm are operably connected to an electronic readout instrument which translates changes in electrical resistance caused by flexure of the arbor-contacting lever arm into weighting force on the cot roll.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The yarn in a textile spinning frame passes between the surface of a cot, which is an elastomeric cylinder, and a fluted steel driving roll against which the cot rotates. A cot roll comprises an assembly of cots and the arbor upon which the cots are mounted. There are normally two cots on a roll, i.e., one on each end.
The magnitude of the frictional forces between the cot and the drive roll is of great concern as it must be controlled for proper gripping action by the cot on the fibers being drafted, and for satisfactory endurance of the elastomeric cot. In some frames this force is developed by manually-adjusted compression spring and toggle lever action. A coarse visual scale showing spring compression is normally the indicator used to estimate the weighting force that the spring action exerts upon the cot roll.
One of the gauges developed in the past to measure the force exerted on the cot rolls is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,227. The gauge disclosed in this patent is a wedge-type force gauge wherein the gauge is mounted on a metal bar, the underside of which has a beveled track upon which a slotted wedge rides. The screw means mounted in threaded openings in longitudinally spaced pieces projecting downwardly from the bottom of the metal bar on the end opposite that upon which the wedge is mounted is used to force the wedge between the steel drive roll and the arbor to lift the cot rolls. When the pressure has been removed from between the steel drive rolls and the cot rolls, a reading is taken from the force gauge and recorded as the front roll weight.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,036 discloses a gauge consisting of a three-pronged spring clip for measuring the mouth opening displacement of fracture toughness test specimens. A strain gauge is secured to the center prong so as to sense the flexure thereof as a change in electrical resistance. The strain gauge is connected to a meter which translates the change in electrical resistance into a measurement of the test specimen mouth during a fracture toughness test thereof.
No known prior art gauge has been developed which could be used by one operator, which would provide the accuracy of measurement desired, be small enough to be used in the limited space available in the textile frames where measurements must take place, be portable, be hand-holdable, and be a self-contained combination transducer and electronic roll-weight measurement gauge and which would enable the operator to quickly use and observe the gauge and the weighting force indicator simultaneously.